NASCAR followers can anticipate motion on the monitor and within the skies this weekend on the Las Vegas Motor Speedway.
The U.S. Air Force Thunderbirds will carry out a flyover for the Pennzoil 400 race on Sunday. About 12,500 followers, a restricted 15 p.c capability, will be handled to the aerial occasion.
Looking down on the crowds will be the pilot behind the No. 6 jet, Maj. Kyle Oliver.
“It’s an absolute honor,” Oliver stated Friday. “The Thunderbirds had an impact on me from a very young age and they are the reason that I ended up in the Air Force and a fighter pilot to begin with.”
Oliver stated the connection between NASCAR and the Thunderbirds is particular as a result of each entities are sometimes represented by a small portion of the group. NASCAR followers see the drivers and pit crews, however typically not the engineers and mechanics behind the scenes. As for the Thunderbirds, whereas they’re comprised of six jets and pilots, there are greater than 130 individuals who make every mission occur.
Flying over Las Vegas is all the time a spotlight for the Thunderbirds as a result of it’s the metropolis they name dwelling.
“We hope the people of Las Vegas are proud of us, we’re certainly proud of them,” Oliver stated. “We hope that when people think of Las Vegas they think of the Strip, they think of Red Rock and then they think that’s the home of the Thunderbirds.”
The inexperienced flag drops on the Pennzoil 400 at 12:30 p.m.
